Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s radical strategies and management of the pandemic continues to irk millions of Brazilians. The president has displayed open defiance of health warnings and the need to exercise proactive safety measures against the risk of contagion.
From egging on his supporters to participate in anti-lockdown rallies to propagating unwarranted benefits of a “miracle drug” on social media and making frequent and unusual visits to bakeries and drug stores in Brasilia; Bolsonaro thumbed his nose at the recommendations of health experts world over—including his own health minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta. Mandetta was fired April 16 and was widely known to harbor views that were a stark opposite to that of Bolsonaro’s.
Unsurprisingly, the spot didn’t remain vacant for long. Nelson Teich, a doctor, and businessman filled up the post. Teich, had once played advisor to Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign. Soon after Teich assumed the position, Bolsonaro shared a YouTube video that saw the two men discuss the pandemic.
While Bolsonaro continued to stick to his baseless stance—raving about the miraculous benefits of Chloroquine, Teich maintained a cautious tone all through the conversation citing how it’s up to the doctors to take the call on what works best in different scenarios.
Despite the growing animosity against Bolsonaro and his ineptitude in handling the global health crisis, there seems to be a lucky streak to his denialism—how is it possible that Bolsonaro’s political career remains unscathed despite his muddled approach, that puts the lives of millions at risk, in the face of the crisis? Turns out, there’s an explanation for this: A recent report argued that Bolsonaro’s Trump card is the growing economic insecurity among Brazilians.
It’s evident that Brazilians will get infuriated by the consequences that the lockdown will have on their survival—only to fiercely bounce back from the local government imposed lockdown and get back to their original ways of livelihood.
As soon as this occurs, Bolsonaro is likely to leap into action and opine how lockdown measures were uncalled for, in the first place. The brunt of the lockdown on the plummeting economy will have them believing that Bolsoaro was right all along.
While the strategy might work, there’s another hurdle for Bolsonaro to cross—escaping impeachment by Congress in the near future.
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